It took me a second to realize he'd literally jumped onto the desk to catch me.
"I...um..." I struggled to think properly. "Not here?"
He knew what I meant and seemed to look back at Tanner. With a nod, he was off the desk and waiting for the secret opening to unlock the little passage to the place I knew our words would remain amongst the three of us.
Alaric carried me all the way into the resting spot we'd set up for private meetings, and it took Tanner an extra minute to join us.
When he arrived, he clapped his hands three times to seal the walls with magic barriers to ensure this place was kept soundproof.
"I put a barrier in the office just in case," he revealed. "Jade's still sleeping."
I hadn't even realized where she was in the office, which suddenly left me feeling more emotional than before.
In three seconds, I was sobbing like crazy, all while the report was getting drenched with my tears. My lovers’ fear seemed to spike as confusion swarmed our bond, but I couldn't stop myself from crying.
How do you even comprehend such news after accepting that you'd never have the ability to have children again? How do you accept that you're somehow healed and the chance of hearing the cry of your child as you cradled them in your arms was now humanly possible?
No need for magical wishes or risky infertility treatments to try and fix what was completely destroyed by a sick man and his followers.
If the results were real, I'd be able to give birth to a child.
Alaric had to lower himself into the nook bench that was against the corner of a wall, rubbing my back and trying his best to console me even though he didn't know why I was crying so harshly.
At some point, the sheets of paper were moved from my grasp, probably to make sure I didn't completely ruin them, which was a blessing because I could turn and hug Alaric as tightly as I could.
There were just far too many emotions to experience in this moment. The relief that I was alive, the joy overflowing my heart with Alaric's safe return, and seeing that Tanner was safe after discovering me with Jade and the others.
The men I loved were safe, the woman we took in as our daughter for so many years was safely sleeping in the other room, and I potentially would feel whole again instead of the lingering stigma that always plagued my mind, filling me with the fear that I wasn't good enough to be a mother because I couldn't have a child of my own.
I never quite understood the stigma until I had to experience it myself. The way health professionals would look at you when you wished for any other options to try and conceive. For years I'd been giving Alaric and Tanner excuses.
That my body merely wasn't ready for that adventure, but it would be something we'd look into in the future. Neither of them knew the dark part of my past. They didn't know about Roberto and his goons and how I'd gone rogue to destroy their whole empire before I met Alaric.
They didn't need to know about that dark side or the past that I'd covered up so perfectly, but here I was, finding out that I suddenly had a chance to create a child for Alaric. Heck. Maybe we could somehow create a child with both their sperms.
There were so many open avenues now, and I couldn't even think clearly about all of them because it still felt so unreal.
I could also be overreacting and be hit with reality that the test was inaccurate.
"Bianca." Tanner rubbed my thighs, and I opened my eyes and tried to control my sobs and heavy breathing as water continued to stream down my flushed cheeks.
"Talk to us," he pleaded with me with those loving eyes of his. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"
I shook my head quickly and leaned over to cry into his shoulder. I'm sure he was looking at Alaric at this point, and it only took me going into another sobbing fest for Tanner to have me in his arms, letting Alaric try to piece together the problem at hand.
It didn't take him long before he gasped.
"This...how?"
I had to assume the reveal of my infertility diagnosis had to have been new or recent seeing as I always made sure I was the only one to review my results after any missions. Maybe he knew and never told me, but that could only remain as an assumption until he told me himself.
"What?" Tanner asked, but Alaric didn't answer. I felt his hand against my back, rubbing gently as if to get my attention. Lifting my head and turning to look at him, I locked onto his glassy eyes as he reached to press his hand against my wet cheek.
"It's fake, right?" My muffled question was filled with so much sorrow. My heart wouldn't be able to take it if the results were fake, but I knew if I heard the truth from Alaric, that he'd help me move forward.
He always had a way of giving me the motivation to strive forward, even if the whole world felt like it was crumbling down.
"It has to be fake," I reasoned. "It's...it's not..."
"It's legit, Bianca," he eased the news to me. "I checked the x-ray scans. It's like...your whole body has been rejuvenated. No abnormalities or weaknesses due to age. Nothing. It's as though you've been healed from the inside out."
"B-But...how?" It didn't make sense.
Charles had literally left me for dead two days ago. How was I suddenly completely healthy with the ability to have children?
I sensed Tanner's confusion as he tried to follow the conversation, but explaining from the beginning would be far too difficult for me with this revelation.
All Alaric could do was give me his best smile as he cradled my face.
"We'll figure it out later," he quietly vowed.
"What if-"
"No what ifs," he interrupted and gently kissed me. The touch was so simple, but it cut through me with immense love. I could feel other emotions, ones I felt Alaric was fighting to hide from me, let alone Tanner, but I wouldn't ruin this moment by trying to eat more than I could chew.
One problem at a time.
He pressed his forehead against mine, and I was soon hugging him once more. Tanner continued to rub my back, and it was one of the many reasons why I cared about him. He didn't need all the facts to simply be present in the moment.
There wasn't any feeling of hurt for being out of the loop with everything. He simply accepted that this was a moment where we needed his support and he'd find out the details later.
Alaric waited for me to calm down before he let me go, and I moved to give Tanner some love by kissing him firmly on the lips. I'd admit, the two of us weren't super affectionate with one another unless Alaric was around.
Though our connection was like a triangle, our affections for Alaric were far greater than between one another. We didn't mind the occasional hand-holding, quiet talks amongst each other, and the rare occasions where we made out, but our true affection always heightened when our Hive King was present.
It was obvious that when we shared affection between each other in his presence, it not only turned him on but always delivered a bit of calm to his system. It could have been due to our past and how Tanner used to hate my guts.
Not like I wasn't a bit of a bitch to him from time to time.
No matter the reasons for our lack of affection, for now, I wanted him to feel the love and appreciation I had to still be able to love Alaric with him by my side.
He kissed me back without hesitation, and released my lips to whisper, "I'm glad you’re okay, and whatever the news, we're here for you."